Many foods and staples are conveniently packaged in plastic bags. The packaged items are sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retail outlets. One can purchase dried pasta, rice, flour, and other pantry items in a sealed package. Other products which are sold in sealed packages include pet food, kitty litter, household supplies, construction supplies (tile grout), and medical supplies. When the package is opened, typically only a small portion of its contents is used at any one time. In the case of packaged rice, the sealed package can be opened by cutting or pulling apart one end. The desired quantity is poured from the package. However, most packages are not resealable. Thus the problem arises as to what to do with the remaining contents of the opened package.
In some cases, the user may decide to pour the remainder of the package into a storage container, e.g., glass jar. With the large number of individual staple items, each being opened at one time or another, the user must invest in a correspondingly large number of glass jars and dedicate storage space for each. There may be a white rice glass jar, a brown rice glass jar, a whole grain rice glass jar, a long grain rice glass jar, etc. The number of storage containers quickly becomes unwieldy, expensive, and difficult to find places for in the average kitchen.
For most opened packages, consumers resign themselves to folding over the opened end and then maybe placing a rubber band around the package to hold the opened flap down. The make-shift resealed package is placed back in the cupboard. Unfortunately, once opened, the contents of the package become subject to spoilage, drying out, insect infestation, and inability to transport. The rubber band around the folded-over flap is by no means air tight and moisture tight. Sometimes the rubber band is left off by accident, oversight, or it may break. In any case, the shelf life of package foods is dramatically reduced once the package is opened. The opened package is subject to accidental spillage and spoilage over time. The opened package becomes difficult to transport, e.g., any non-perishable product bought while on vacation is difficult to bring home without spillage. The consumer ends up wasting money from failure to utilize the entire contents of the package of many products.
Some products are purchased in open packages. Warm food purchased from the restaurant is often placed in a bag or package for transport home. The open bag allows heat to escape, even when folded over, and diminishes the quality of the food by the time the consumer reaches home.
A need exists for an apparatus and method of sealing or resealing opened bags and packages.